Hands-on learning focus of High/Scope program

A child thinks like a slide projector, according to Sherry Gill, an early childhood support teacher with the Amarillo Independent School District.

If a teacher lists the tasks necessary for the children to get ready to leave school, they're each not likely to hear all the instructions, Gill said.

"Some of them would hear to get their backpacks. Some of them would hear to get their papers. Some would hear to get their gloves and coat," she said.

Children concentrate on one thing at a time, and AISD pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first-grade teachers are focusing along with them through a curriculum philosophy called High/Scope.

Developed by High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, based in Ypsilanti, Mich., the curriculum draws on the senses to draw out learning. Youngsters see, feel, hear, taste and touch knowledge through active experiences in "centers" around the classroom, Gill said. Gill and Linda Webb, another early childhood support teacher, participated in High/Scope training at Ypsilanti to prepare for training AISD teachers.

Centers might include sand and water tables; a blocks play area; a drama play area where they can dress up and imagine; areas for manipulatives, small items that children can touch, count, and do other things with; a writing center, where kids can make up stories, perhaps using stamps for illustrations or as substitutes for words, Gill said. The play also helps children develop gross and fine motor skills and coordination.

"Children learn best through experiences," she said.

Two Academic 2000 grants during the last three years have brought High/Scope to Amarillo, by providing training for teachers in many schools across the district, Gill said.

Children start the day with large group activities, such as singing songs or telling stories. Next, they plan what they'll do when they can hit the centers.

"All children, everyday, tell you what their plan is when they go into centers," Gill said.

Having each child declare his activities teaches them how to plan. At the beginning of the school year, a student might only say which area he wants to work in. Later in the year, children develop more extensive plans, explaining what they want to paint, for example. The growth in planning, and language skills, stems from its part in the routine and from listening to what other students are saying, Gill said.

Centers also give children a choice.

"You follow a child's interests," she said.

Teachers observe the children in their activities, taking note of when Jennifer can work a six-piece puzzle, but has trouble with a seven-piece, or social interaction, such as whether Johnny and Jimmy play side by side without involving each other or play cooperatively.

"You get to know a child on so much better a level, so you know when there are things you can do to increase their knowledge," Gill said.

During another part of the day, teachers can slip in activities to add skills where a student is lacking - still keeping to the child's interest.

For example, if Billy always heads to the blocks area, a teacher can develop math skills by introducing counting activities, enhance science skills by introducing activities that involve balance, or develop fine motor skills used for handwriting by suggesting that he make signs for his building.

"It's still a choice of his interest," Gill said. 'We know all of us learn better when it's something we're interested in."

Observation plays a key role, she said. Rather than questioning a child involved in an activity, High/Scope teachers "wait for them to invite you in. When they become aware of you there, they will usually pause, look up and start talking to you, automatically," she said.

Activity centers also encourage problem-solving, something the teachers used to do for them, Gill said. Instead of limiting the number of kids allowed at the sand table, for example, a teacher lets the children fix overcrowding themselves. Some might bring other chairs to the table. Others might decide to go to another center and come back later.

Language skills are encouraged in many ways.

"It's noisier than most classrooms, because we really encourage talking," Gill said. "We listen more than we talk."

In addition, each child shares - aloud - something he has done each week, she said.

The review helps children gain skills they will need, skills targeted by the fourth-grade Texas Assessment of Academic Skills writing test, which asks them to write a reflection, Gill said.

"Children don't naturally understand how to relate past experiences," she said, adding that review time stimulates interest in the activities among other youngsters in the class.